No Fairytales
by Archica
Summary: [Balthier x Penelo] Penelo gets lost in a cavern and hopes to find a knight in shining armor. Angsty.


No Fairytales

Penelo was lost in the caverns and the sound of various howling, snarling monsters lurking in the darkness was not at all helping matters as she ran in what was beginning to seem like circles, searching for the others. They had somehow been seperated and Penelo had ended up alone.

She called Vaan's name, her voice's echo lingering behind her as she pressed forward, too frightened to stop. A couple of monsters didn't really pose a threat to her, but a group of them together could certainly do a lot of harm, especially with none of her friends there to help. She called Fran's name as well, having no better luck.

_His_ name danced at the edge of her lips, waiting for her to give it voice, but she refused to call out to him so easily. She hadn't spoken to him all that many times and still felt rather shy in his company, but in all honesty she couldn't stop wishing that he would be the one she ran into first.

It was a childish fantasy she had entertained from the moment she met him, that he would swoop in and rescue her from danger, like the dashing prince from a generic fairytale. But Penelo had grown up on the streets and seen all too clearly the reality of her world. Fairytales never came true, and dashing princes had no interest in common street urchins like her.

Still, Balthier was charming, even if his intentions were suspicious at best. And Penelo had found herself watching him from afar, blushing when he gave her even a passing glance, and positively tongue-tied when he entered a conversation she was involved in. She had tried to blend into the background, play the role of "Vaan's friend", the sweet, plain little girl who had tagged along for a ride she really had no part of. But deep in her mind she longed for Balthier to notice her, to see her for who she was.

Alas, she had encountered little luck in that regard, and now she was alone and scared. The air in the cavern was was crisp and cold, sending shivers down her spine anytime she slowed to a walk, prompting her to continue running. She kept calling for Vaan or anyone who might end up near her. She had to run into someone eventually.

And she did run into someone, or rather _something_. A pack of hell hounds surrounded her within seconds, growling at her. She glanced around, realizing that there was no escape route. One of them lunged at her and she blocked with her shield, but another ran forward and bit into her leg, drawing blood. She screamed and knocked it away with her weapon, only to have two more attack.

After knocking them away, she ran forward, between two of them while dodging their attacks. She kept running, hearing them giving chase behind. Tears were forming in her eyes as every single step was painful. Blood leaked from the wound in her leg and she was well aware that she was involuntarily slowing down. The hell hounds were getting closer.

Finally Balthier's name broke free from her lips, echoing through the cavern with her desperation and fear. She called it again and again, terror sweeping through her as one of the hell hounds got close enough to snap at her ankles.

But Balthier didn't come. No one came. Penelo knew then, even though she had told herself countless times, that Balthier was not her prince. He was not her knight in shining armor. He barely even knew that she existed.

A hell hound managed to latch its teeth into her foot and she tumbled to the ground with another cry. She swung at it with her weapon, screaming wildly, but the hound was determined to stay latched onto her. The others circled her, then pounced. They tore into her flesh, blood spraying across the cold dirt beneath her. And though she knew it was no use at all, she called Balthier's name until she slipped into death.

It was an hour later that the rest of the group managed to find each other. Vaan asked if anyone had seen Penelo, but no one answered. Within minutes they discovered her lifeless, mutilated body, still being eaten by the hell hounds. Rage fueled them as they destroyed the creatures, and Vaan was the first to drop by her body and hold her tightly.

Balthier watched from a distance with Fran. "It's strange," he said, his voice a little quieter than usual, "I thought I heard her calling for me a while ago, but I never found her."

Fran looked to him sadly. "It is a great loss. For us _all_."

Balthier nodded, and no one saw his hand inside his pocket, clutching a once-borrowed handkerchief.


End file.
